LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 16: Mesut Özil of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on February 16, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Mesut Ozil has joined a group of Chelsea stars led by Antonio Rudiger in a project to send 60,000 face masks to Sierra Leone to help in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Rudiger’s family stem from Sierra Leone but fled that country in 1991 to Germany as refugees following the civil war.

The Germany international will be joined by N’Golo Kante, Olivier Giroud and Callum Hudson-Odio in donating to local charity groups Madam Wokie and Lunchbox Gift.

Each player involved offered $5000 with the donations being matched by the European Union who are also supporting the initiative.

Rudiger revealed the details of the project on his official Twitter account and thanked his teammates as well as Ozil.

I am pleased to announce that my Foundation Antonio Rüdiger For Sierra Leone will be partnering with @madam_wokie and @LunchBoxGift to provide 60,000 face masks to low income market traders in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This will hopefully reduce the spread of Covid19. 🇸🇱🙏🏾

Our target for this campaign is $30.000. I Will pledge $5,000 to kickstart this campaign and Big Thanks to @MesutOzil1088, @nglkante, @Calteck10, @_OlivierGiroud_ for donating an extra $5,000.Please follow the link below to donate too. Keep safe and save lives! Thx u in advance.